Senior Rolls-Royce engineer is cleared of groping mother

The senior manager at Rolls-Royce was today cleared of groping a mother pushing her baby in a pram as he jogged past her.

Jeff Tozer, 45, from Bristol, was accused of ‘grabbing’ the woman between the legs as he passed her on the pavement where she was wheeling her infant son in a pushchair.

The head of engineering and business management for Rolls-Royce in Filton, Bristol, was arrested after the woman snapped a photo of him on her phone, and dialled 999. 

But a jury at Bristol Crown Court acquitted him of a single charge of sexual assault.

The head of engineering and business management for Rolls-Royce in Filton, Bristol, was arrested after the woman snapped a photo of the alleged attacker on her phone, and dialled 999

Speaking after the hearing, Mr Tozer said: ‘I am pleased but not surprised.’

During his trial Mr Tozer said: ‘I was not paying proper attention and it was an innocent collision.’

The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the court she was walking close to the Rolls Royce factory site in September 2016 when she was molested.

She said a jogger came towards her and passed her on the pavement.

The woman said: ‘Suddenly I felt a hand between my legs, which made me jump and turn. It came from behind.

Jeff Tozer, 45, leaving Bristol Crown Court. He is accused of 'grabbing' a woman between the legs as he passed her on the pavement where she was wheeling her infant son in a pram

Jeff Tozer, 45, leaving Bristol Crown Court. He is accused of ‘grabbing’ a woman between the legs as he passed her on the pavement where she was wheeling her infant son in a pram

‘The only person there had been the runner. He put his hand between my legs, it was very forceful.

‘It wasn’t a flat hand, it was a grab with his thumb and fingers. I said it was three seconds, it wasn’t a brush.

‘For a split second I thought it was somebody I know trying to play a prank on me.’

The complainant said the jogger continued on his way as she got her phone from the pram and took as many photos as she could of him.

She added: ‘I just thought he can’t do that to me.’

The woman dialled 999 and reported the assault to police, who arrested Mr Tozer.

Mr Tozer said he was out running and had bumped into someone and told the jury: ‘I was not paying proper attention and it was an innocent collision.’

A character witness said: ‘He is a man of integrity who I trust implicitly.’  



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